The Strength of Bonds
by TheAnimeFan0919
Summary: Shinji Ikari, pilot of Evangelion Unit-01 and...Persona user? Things are about to get even crazier in Tokyo-3. A retelling of Evangelion where Shinji realizes that the bonds which connect people to one another can change the world. Chapter 1 of the first arc of the story after the overhaul coming soon.
1. Prolouge Part 1:As Fate Would Have It

Author's Notes: Well, it has really been a long time, but here is the overhaul of the very first chapter of 'The Strength of Bonds'.

I know it seemed like I abandoned this story, but I definitely did not. I've redone this first chapter at least fifteen or sixteen times within just the past two months. Even if it seemed okay, I would rewrite it because it didn't feel right. Before I broke my hand, I had rewritten this chapter at least ten to twenty times, and when I broke my hand, I had a lot of time to brainstorm and come up with new ideas and directions for the story. My hand used to ache a lot before, or whenever, it would rain, so that also kept me down for a bit, but I have had more than enough time to recover. By the time this has replaced the original chapter 1, I'll have started working on overhaul chapter 2. The overhauled chapter 2(part 2 of the prologue) should be done in about two or three days at least, or a week at most.

* * *

What stayed after the overhaul (even if it was never originally introduced):

-Personae, Persona Fusion and the Compendium

-Social Links

-Character Status (Tired, Sick, Good, Great)

-Social Status (Academics, Charm, Courage and Understanding)

-Ryuujin (now with double u's instead of that single line over the u)

-Enemies and Bosses from Persona 3 and 4(they now play vastly different roles than I originally planned)

What is now gone (even if it was never originally introduced):

-Fusion Spells

-The old plot

What's new? Well…this stuff:

-New plot

-New skill set for Ryuujin, and a new look

-Slower pacing, like the actual Persona games

-New format for flashbacks

-Shinji still looks weak, but is much stronger than he appears to be

-Shinji is much more aggressive

-Shinji's childhood is also different

And the most important change is...

-Shinji isn't as dense! Not exactly an #asskickerShinji, nor is he normal #wimpyShinji, this version of Shinji, after being raised by Mitsuru and Akihiko Kirijo, is somewhere in a comfortable middle between the two. He's definitely not wimpy, but he's still rather weak compared to fighters like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jason Statham, Bruce Wayne (nananananananana BATMAN!), Jotaro, Kenshiro, Suzaku Kururugi or Chuck Norris.

Well, that about covers it at the moment.

Now, let's get to the more important part: figuring out what is what!

_A single sentence, or several sentences in a paragraph or section usually signify thoughts or a fragment of a memory._

_An entire section in italics is a flashback._

Whatever is not italicized is, well, normal stuff and talking.

Persona thoughts, a persona speaking or a shadow self speaking will not be covered in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion or Persona 3 and 4. They belong to Gainax and Atlus, respectively.

* * *

Prologue Part 1 – As Fate Would Have It

_September 2nd, 2005_

_A woman in a pink shirt, pink pajamas and white lab coat patted the head of the child next to her. A pair of little, dark blue eyes stared directly at her sapphire blue eyes, and the woman could see into the depths of the child's soul. There, she saw mostly curiosity and happiness, which was commonplace for children. She smiled at the child gently and pointed up to the stars. "Shinji, do you see all those stars up there?" The boy looked up at the sky, nodding without even turning to look at her. "One day, you'll be there, amongst those stars." _

"_Will I really be out there, mommy?" The child's mother giggled a bit, and then her mood darkened. "It's a possibility, sweetheart." Her train of thought followed the same path as her dark mood. One day, a threat greater than the angels would appear. Her son and several others would risk their lives to deal with this new threat, and one would even give up their soul to end the conflict. Yui Ikari hoped that her little one would not be forced to risk his life as he fought a war on two fronts. However, she knew that no matter how much she hoped for the best, it was inevitable that the creatures of the dark would come once more._

* * *

Present Time, Tokyo-3

September 2nd, 2015

"So, you want me to pilot the thing that killed my mother, don't you?" said the young man as he glared at the figure standing in the dark a few dozen feet away from him. "Why would I bother piloting a monstrosity that killed my mother?" The figure was about to speak until the young man spoke up once more. "Also, another thing that really bothers me is the fact that you expect an untrained civilian who has no prior training to combat what is the equivalent of an alien invader. You know, this would have gone better if you had told me two weeks, or even two months, in advance."

The figure slowly stepped into the light as he spoke. "Make a decision." He received a smirk in response. "What if I refuse?" Silence, for a moment, and a coldhearted reply was the answer he received. "If you refuse to pilot, leave and never come back. Cowards are not wanted or needed here." In the blink of an eye, the young man closed the distance between himself and the figure, delivering a devastating punch to the face. "You're right, you know. There is no room for cowards here. I suppose you should be leaving then, Rokubungi. You're a disgrace as a man and failure as a father the way you are now. Mother would be so disappointed in you." Gendo Ikari, formerly Gendo Rokubungi, grabbed the young man by his shirt collar and gave him a look filled with anger and hatred. "You have no right to say such things, you brat." To Gendo's surprise, he received another punch to the face followed by a roundhouse kick that shattered his orange-tinted sunglasses and broke his nose. The other people in the area, a blonde in a lab coat and the purplenette who had escorted the young man, stared in shock as their commander got his ass whooped by a fourteen-year old who looked extremely scrawny.

A group of men in black rushed into the area, the Evangelion cages as the young man recalled, with their guns at the ready and aimed at him. The purplenette started shouting at the armed men. "Stand down, idiots! That's the Third Child you're pointing those rifles at!" A chuckle escaped the young man's lips as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his own gun and pointed it at his head. "I suggest you put those rifles down before I blow my head off." There was a moment of hesitation, but that ended when he put his finger to the trigger. "I'm serious. Drop the guns. Ignore my warning and I won't even consider helping you guys. I'll leave you with a corpse instead."

* * *

In a distant corner of NERV nearby the cages, a black liquid began to leak from one of the pipes. At first, it was drop by drop. However, the pipe continued to open up more, and that small area became submerged in darkness and sharp, red slits for eyes. In less than five minutes, an army had been created. It started with one, and soon after, one became two. Two became four, and they continued to divide themselves until they numbered over sixty-five thousand in total. They did not stop, however, and continued to multiply while a group of twenty moved in on their prey: a small group of humans and one with the potential.

* * *

"You would actually pull the trigger to get out of this situation?" asked the blonde, whom the young man knew was Ritsuko Akagi, head of Project E. As she expected, he shrugged, a calm expression on his face. "Of course, and there's no changing my mind." No one, not even Gendo, expected a piece of ceiling to come plummeting down moments later, and with that gigantic piece of rubble came a horde of creatures that all, save for one, recognized. "It's just like Mitsuru-nee and Aki-nii predicted." Gendo glared at him. "What do you know of these odd creatures, Shinji?" Shinji, however, was too busy thinking back to when his cousin (and legal guardian), Mitsuru Kirijo handed him the weapon he was currently pointing at his head.

* * *

_Two years ago_

"_Why are you giving me a gun, Mitsuru-nee?" The redhead gave him a sad smile as she stare at the gun, dozens of memories flooding her head. "It isn't really a gun. Do you remember that creature I showed you? That was a shadow, and this is known as an evoker. It's used to summon a tamed version of a shadow that resides in you, which we call a persona. This evoker…is special to me and the rest of S.E.E.S. It belonged to one Minato Arisato, who led our group in combat and gave up his life to seal away the Night Queen, Nyx." Shinji couldn't help but look at the evoker in a somber manner. "I'll do my best to honor Arisato-san, onee-san." She nodded and tossed the evoker's holster at him. "If you happen to come across shadows during your stay in Tokyo-3, point it at your head and pull the trigger. Once you hear the sound of shattering glass when no glass has shattered, everything will be okay."_

* * *

And so, the shadows crawled quickly, heavily injuring three of the armed men while killing the rest. Bodies burned, were sliced to bits by hurricane like winds, shocked and turned into blocks of ice, and the three who had survived with heavy injuries were suffering due to broken bones, blood loss or impalement. Shinji, still pointing the evoker at his head, recalled what Akihiko (or Aki-nii, as he preferred to be called) said. _"Get stronger, kiddo, so you can protect those you hold dear."_ A gentle hold on the trigger forced it back a tiny bit. "Per." The trigger moved back a little farther, nearing the point where it would go off. "So." The purplenette looked on in horror, thinking he was about to commit suicide. "Na." The evoker went off, and Shinji heard the sound of shattering glass. Behind him, a figure began to manifest, surrounding itself and Shinji with waves of energy.

And the battle to save mankind from itself began once again.

* * *

_Preview of: Prologue Part 2_

"_What the hell was that?"_

"_That's scientifically impossible, you know."_

"_Evangelion-01 has engaged the target!"_

"_Somebody save my little sister! Please!"_

"_Save those two damn it!"_

"THANATOS_!"_

"_RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"_

_Next Chapter: Prologue Part 2 – A Frosty Spring Night_

* * *

Chapter End Notes: Well, this was way overdue for many reasons, but enough of that. I'm glad I was finally able to finish this first chapter up, since it makes typing up the second chapter much much easier. I'm already working on that second chapter, if anyone is asking. If anyone has a questions about specific parts of the fic, or about the fic in general, let me know in a review or a pm.

* * *

Now, let me go over Shinji's stats when he starts taking classes in Tokyo-3, and the month after that (which will be chapters 2 through 4 or 5 and cover the battles with Sachiel, Shamsel and Ramiel, with a tiny bit of the Gaghiel battle). His stats will be updated after every chapter, and starting with the second half of the prologue, his persona will have a name. For now, it is unnamed, but for those who have read the story at least once, they know its name.

Shinji Ikari:

Persona: ?

-Current Moves: N/A

Social Links: Mitsuru Kirijo (Empress), Akihiko Sanada (Emperor), ? (Lovers), ? (Justice)

Social Status:

-Smart (Academics Rank 4 – Persona 3)/Informed (Knowledge Rank 2 – Persona 4)

-Determined (Courage Rank 3 – Persona 3)/Reliable (Courage Rank 2 – Persona 4)

-Kind (Understanding Rank 2)

-Confident (Charm Rank 3)

* * *

Anyway, if anyone is still reading this, I apologize for an extremely late and overdue update, and I hope you're excited for the second half of the prologue.

Whether you liked it or hated it, please leave a you.

_TheAnimeFan0919_


	2. Prologue Part 2: A Frosty Spring Night

AN: Here comes chapter two of the prologue. Not much to say about this, but then there's…

Persona speaking

_Persona thinking_

_**Shadow Self Speaking**_

I'm including these now, compared to having them in the first chapter, for good reason.

Also, I'll be mentioning a song title as a theme for any battles that come up. The songs come from Persona 3 and 4 respectively.

Anyway, I don't own Evangelion or Persona 3 and 4 as they belong to Gainax and Atlus respectively. I also don't own any skills I borrow from the rest of the Shin Megami Tensei games, as they belong to Atlus.

* * *

Prologue Part 2: A Frosty Spring Night

The shadows that had entered through the ceiling shivered at the frosty embrace of the persona behind Shinji, which had its arms crossed. It resembled a man wearing a blue helmet of draconic origin, blue scale mail, and black pants which complemented the blue greaves and black shoes he wore. In addition, his arms were covered by scale mail gauntlets in a shade of black that matched his pants. The persona and its summoner ignored what was around them, enjoying the feel of their joint power. "Thou art I, and I am thou. I am Ryuujin, Dragon God. Come, my friend. Let us crush the fools who would dare attack us." Shinji nodded and lifted his pant leg, revealing what appeared to be just the hilt of a dagger. "Give them death by soaking!"

The flooring beneath the shadows began to shake until blades of water erupted from beneath, slicing more than half the shadows to pieces. The other shadows, at least drenched in water now, made a made a mad dash…er, crawl to Shinji and Ryuujin. A single thought was shared between the two, and massive icicles rained down upon the shadows, eradicating several of the remaining ones. Twirling the bladeless hilt in his hand, he shrugged. "I thought this would be a more difficult fight. Guess not, eh?" The persona chuckled and shook his head. "Tread carefully, young one. Fate is not a kind mistress, nor is she forgiving." The last group of shadows, three in number, had closed in on the human and his persona, and neither felt comfortable being surrounded. Shots were fired, and the bullets were much too close for comfort, and didn't even damage the shadows, much less bother them. He looked over to Misato and Dr. Akagi, who had their pistols drawn, and tilted his head in an innocent manner. "I don't know if you realized it yet, but you can't exactly damage them like you would a human being or an animal."

* * *

Ryuujin, rather agitated by how close the shadows were, grabbed one and flung it in the air, waiting for a moment as gravity did its job. As soon as the shadow was close enough, he swung his fist upward, vanquishing it. Sticking his other hand out, he summoned his weapon: a sheathed katana. "An insult to my power, fighting grunts such as these, this is." The last two shadows began to back away, with fear evident in their movements. The persona smirked and drew his sword, slicing one of the shadows in half. Shinji swung the hilt, revealing a blade which extended two-and-a-half feet. "Remain aware, summoner. A formidable foe has appeared nearby, and a truly difficult opponent awaits you on the surface." Speak of the devil, and it shall appear, as was the case when a giant mass of fused shadows came down from the ceiling, multiple arms and hands springing from the central part of the now massive shadow. One of the hands that sprung up from the main body of the shadow held a glowing blue mask in its hand with the Roman numeral for one engraved on it. "That's…Mitsuru-nee and her friends got rid of these specific shadows already, so how is it here, alive?" "Our opponent appears to be The Magician. Do not let its appearance fool you. I can sense the overwhelming power it hides." The shadow swung its arms, trying to taunt the pair, but suddenly launched a fireball. It was not aimed at Shinji or his persona, however, but the two women watching the pair in awe from the sidelines. "Shit! I won't make it in time!" Instead of charging to the two women, he charged at the shadow as he yelled out his command to the persona. "Protect them while I deal with this amalgam of limbs!"

* * *

Above them, Tokyo-3 was suffering from the powerful attacks of the Third Angel, Sachiel. The JSSDF had been laid to waste by its power, but its attention was no longer on the pesky bugs that had bothered it, nor was it being drawn to the presence of the all-mother, Lilith. It could feel another powerful, holy presence somewhere below it, and a completely unholy presence close to it. Sachiel raged, feeling such an unholy presence nearby him and started to attack the floor, trying to dig its way into NERV to crush the abomination of darkness.

* * *

-Battle Music: Master of Shadows, from Persona 3-

Shinji jumped back a bit as the shadow attempted to decapitate him with the blades it had drawn out of thin air. Having missed its attacks, it was left unguarded for a moment and Shinji took this chance to strike. Recovering quickly, the shadow blocked his blade and quickly aimed five of its own at him only to jump back. Also jumping back, Shinji noticed another piece of the ceiling had broken off and nearly crushed him and the shadow. Dust clouded Shinji's view as it surrounded him, and Shinji turned his back momentarily to try and predict where the shadow was. The shadow, seeing its chance to attack, leapt toward him but was forced to retreat when giant shards of ice hovered over it for a split second. Dodging to the side, the spot where it had been just seconds earlier had been destroyed, leaving nothing but a small crater. Sensing another attack, it tried to dodge once more but was caught by a twister that sent it flying into a wall.

With the twister returning visibility to normal, the shadow, now infuriated, charged, swinging its blades angrily, but in a predictable manner, at the young man. Taking advantage of this, the persona and its summoner evaded its attacks, causing several of the shadow's blades to become lodged in the floor. The duo of persona and summoner struck the shadow time and time again while avoiding its attacks, eventually leaving the shadow with just one blade to attack with. Swinging with the only available blade it had, it nearly got Shinji until Ryuujin appeared and parried the attack, leaving it wide open for an attack. A distinct scream of agony was heard from the shadow as several of the blade-wielding arms and some of the movement limbs were sliced off. It was even more infuriated, but the screams of agony continued as Shinji sliced more of its limbs off. In the midst of another attack, the shadow got a lucky slice on Shinji's left leg, but Shinji muffled his cry of pain by holding his tongue between his teeth. Unfortunately for Shinji, he fell to one knee, the shadow now towering before him as it prepared to deliver the killing blow.

Unfortunately for the shadow, it had forgotten about the persona, which sliced off several more of its arms and snapped its fingers, freezing more of its movement limbs. Another twister sprung up from beneath the shadow, and it was flung into the wall once more, with many of its limbs now missing. Barely able to move, it slowly crawled towards Shinji, but did not notice an even larger chunk of the ceiling that was about to crush it. A loud crash and a pained squealing were heard, but the squealing stopped and the shadow's face, the mask landed in front of Shinji. "It's over!" Lifting his blade, he stabbed the mask and it bled, the glow slowly fading from it. With his blade retracting (obvious double entendre), the young man limped over to the bystanders while Ryuujin faded from existence. "Until the next battle, young friend, I shall depart." The young man gave the persona a thumbs-up as it disappeared. "So, what was that about piloting that behemoth over there?"

-Battle Music End-

* * *

A few minutes later, he was being launched up to the streets of Tokyo-3 at a speed that would have made other people lose their lunch.

* * *

Sachiel was rather surprised. The unholy presence had been all but squashed, while some of the holy presence remained. With the need to dig over, it returned to its mission of reaching the all-mother once more. However, as it searched for an entrance to where the mother of all angels was being held, an opponent appeared, springing up from an entrance in the ground. Sachiel deduced it would need to eliminate its opponent to finally reach the all-mother, but laughed when its opponent went face-first into the concrete.

Shinji, now in Evangelion-01, was rather annoyed by the behemoth's controls. It was like trying to learn how to walk, and the machine certainly made him feel like he was a toddler again. As he tried to will the unit to stand, the angel grabbed it by the throat and raised it into the air. In response, Shinji felt like he was choking, and that really pissed him off. With as much will as he could muster while being choked, he got the Evangelion to swing its fist at the angel's arm, which, much to his surprise, and the surprise of everyone in NERV, shattered the angel's arm. Dropping the behemoth, Sachiel roared as it analyzed the damage done to its hand.

Not wanting his effort to go to waste, Shinji willed the unit to punch the angel again, only to be blocked by an orange, octagonal barrier. He could hear Doctor Akagi and Misato informing him of the barrier, known as an A.T. field, but his anger got the best of him and he continued to punch the barrier. Sachiel, not at 100% after being bashed by several N2 mines and having its arm shattered, hid behind the barrier as it tried to recover. The punches from the behemoth that was its opponent did not stop, however, and in a moment of weakness, Sachiel put most of its strength into recovering, allowing the barrier to shatter.

With its barrier down, Unit-01 began to punch Sachiel's core as the pilot ignored the words of both Misato and Doctor Akagi. Cracks began to appear on the crimson red orb, and Shinji, feeling victorious, continued to attack the core of the relatively weakened Sachiel. As he felt his connection with the behemoth grow stronger, he could hear a voice. _"Let us end this."_ Knowing it was his persona, he put all his effort into summoning Ryuujin, who struck Sachiel's core with a powerful strike and faded away. As a last attempt, it attempted to blast the Evangelion with a massive energy beam, but the purple titan avoided it, and it flew straight into one of the apartment buildings. Unit-01 drew its progressive knife and, with an angry scream by Shinji, shattered the core. Sachiel, knowing it was defeated and dying, simply fell backwards and let its life run out.

In the plug, Shinji was breathing heavily, and was no longer able to drown out Misato or Doctor Akagi. "Shinji, there's a little girl and some guy that are about to get crushed by the rubble of an apartment! Save those two, damn it!" Shinji nodded and looked around for the little girl and the guy that was with her, and just barely spotted them as the floor beneath the two started to collapse. _'I…I won't make it! Damn it! There has to be a way!'_ Desperately he grabbed the evoker, Minato's evoker, and wished as hard as he could. _'I wish for the power to save people! I wish for the power to protect! Give me that power!' _Pulling the trigger, he called out the name of the guardian of the underworld. "THANATOS!" A wave of nausea hit him, and a sinister voice spoke to him. _'Just this one time, kid. Got that?'_ Materializing next to the little girl, Thanatos grabbed her and the guy and teleported over to Shinji, who had ejected his plug and was standing on top of it. Placing the girl, who was shivering, in Shinji's arms, and dropping the guy onto the plug, Thanatos began to dematerialize.

Opening his jaw, Thanatos roared. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

* * *

It was just the first of many battles Shinji would be in…

For fate would not let him rest until he could keep the promise he made with his mother.

* * *

_Preview of: Arc 1, Chapter 1_

"_Thanks for saving my sis, new kid."_

"_Holy shit! The Evangelion is coming right at us!"_

"_Hey, the class rep is missing!"_

"_I am a shadow, the true self."_

_Next Chapter: Chapter 1 – The Shadows Within_

* * *

Chapter End Notes: Well, this ends part two of the prologue, and the beginning of the first arc, which is the Shadow Self Arc. Basically, taking on the Persona 4 (although it was originally from Persona 2) plot point of defeating your shadow self.

* * *

Anyway, from last chapter, the only real change to Shinji's status is having a persona. I'll be listing the persona's (Ryuujin's) status, weakness(es) and skillset down below.

Ryuujin, Dragon God:

-Weak to Fire

-Nullifies Ice and Wind

Current moves:

-Malaqua, a spell that deals light water damage to multiple enemies

-Bufu, a spell that deals light ice damage to a single enemy

-Mabufu, a spell that deals light ice damage to multiple enemies

-Cleave, a skill that deals light physical damage to a single enemy

-Garu, a spell that deals light wind damage to a single enemy

Ryuujin is a balanced persona that can take a significant amount of damage, but dish it right back. He is fairly speedy and has a decent amount of strength and magical power, but does not rely solely on his speed, strength or magical power.

* * *

Anyway, please review, even if you hated this chapter. Thanks.

TheAnimeFan0919


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